A Bauchi State High Court has dismissed an application seeking a perpetual injunction to restrain the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) from probing financial transactions linked to security votes in the Office of the Secretary to the Bauchi State Government (SSG).
In the suit, nine applicants, filing under the name “Concerned Indigenes of Bauchi State”, asked the court to compel the ICPC, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to withdraw from the matter and hand the investigation to the Nigeria Police.
The applicants, on Wednesday, told the court they had lost confidence in the anti-graft agencies, alleging the bodies had failed to act on multiple petitions about alleged financial infractions in the SSG’s office.
Counsel to the applicants, M.J. Jaldi, told the court that some transactions, including large cash disbursements not routed through banks, appeared to violate the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act and therefore warranted police investigation.
The applicants also described the SSG’s office as a “financial drainpipe” on the interests of Bauchi citizens, a phrase used in their filings to underscore concerns about alleged mismanagement.
ICPC, through its Director of Public Enlightenment, Demola Bakare, said the commission filed a counter-affidavit opposing all the reliefs sought by the applicants. In a statement, Bakare confirmed the ICPC had responded formally to the court challenge.
By dismissing the application, the court effectively declined to bar the ICPC from carrying out its probe into the security-vote transactions. No reasons for the dismissal were provided in court papers released to the media.
The matter is expected to continue through the regular investigatory and legal processes, with the ICPC’s response to the commission’s investigation forming part of the public record as proceedings move forward.
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